The Things We Can't Replace
by JessenoSabaku
Summary: Franky admires his crew-mates, and Robin is no exception. But when they get to talking about what the poneglyphs will reveal about the truth of their world's missing history, Robin seems to think there's something in Franky that's worth being admired, too. Kinda Franky x Robin, kinda not. Take it however you wish. Also, actual story might not quite fit summary? Rated K .


**Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me. All the rights for the characters and the series go to Eiichiro Oda and his partners. THIS WRITING IS DONE ONLY FOR FUN AND WRITING CRITIQUE. Please support the official release.**

INTRODUCTION: So, got some random inspiration for the Franky/Robin crack pairing, and decided to do a piece with some implication that they care about each other. But not really. It's more of a friendship fic than anything. And really lacking, probably. But I liked doing more One Piece. Usopp's in it, too!

Hope you enjoy this. I don't think I've edited it very well, but whatever.

**(XXX)**

Often, the face Franky saw the most on the Thousand Sunny was Usopp's. Ever since the Going Merry kicked the bucket, Usopp had asked Franky to let him assist in ship maintenance. If—God forbid—Franky was absent and the ship needed repairs, Usopp wanted to be able to do something about it. He feared that negligence would mean the crew could face losing another dear vessel. And it was Franky's dream ship, Usopp said. He knew how it felt to lose a dream ship, and he never wanted Franky to feel that pain.

So Franky let Usopp assist him. He found out they had a lot in common. They both liked working with machines, but Usopp was more of a physicist than a shipwright. Even though Franky had to consider physics greatly in his design and maintenance of his ship, Usopp's sniping skills solely depended on it. He had to understand his weapon, what it could do in how many ways, and just how to do it. When talking with Usopp, Franky always felt that building a ship that could withstand violent waves was a hell of a lot easier than shooting the antennae off an ant. It required constant precision, and there were no do-overs. Franky harbored a great admiration for Usopp's skill, and more importantly, his courage in the face of danger, despite his I-want-to-stay-on-the-ship-and-avoid-conflict disease.

They made a lot of fond memories together. Franky always liked how Usopp leaned so close to his work that his nose intruded upon his hands and equipment. That sniper would always push his nose up and out of the way and hold it there with one hand while he worked. Sometimes when they were on break, they made up songs together. Franky once remixed Sogeking's Sniper Island song, and they both sang a duet on into the night, "Where is it~? It's in your ha, ha, haato~!"

And beyond those days when they goofed off, there were days like this one, where they were both sitting on the floor with machine parts strewn around, drawn into long periods of intense, concentrated silence, tools dancing in the heated air. That particular day they were working on reinforcing the mini-Merry, but this time with some new weapons that could be make it a more powerful battleship. With its small size, it would be perfect for infiltrating enemy lines, especially in a chaotic situation where their opponents would be distracted.

"Working on the mini-Merry reminds me of the day I got on the Going Merry," Usopp said, a hint of nostalgia in his smile. "That day, I resolved that even if I had to face the seas alone, I would become a great warrior of the sea, like my dad."

"Your dad was a sniper too, right?" Franky asked, screwing in some bolts.

"Yeah. Someday I'm going to be an even better sniper than him."

"You're already off to a pretty good start."

Glowing with happiness from Franky's praise, Usopp's hands worked faster.

Franky could understand where Usopp was coming from. Tom had been like a father to Franky, and had encouraged him to make ships and be happy. But Tom was also his rival, along with Iceburg, that he knew he would be competing against more seriously in the future, when he was older and more skillful at his craft. They would be the markers he measured himself against.

He always admired Tom. That man could tear countless ships down and build them up again. He could reduce a machine to dust and then make it rise from the ashes like a phoenix, sturdy and true. Just like when Franky arrived, nothing more than the defunct product of his parents, Tom took all his broken pieces and built Franky a new future. He showed kindness and strength, even in the face of his execution. The entire Franky Family was thanks to Tom's example living through his cyborg apprentice.

Franky admired men like Tom and Usopp and Usopp's father. They had control over mind and body, an acute understanding of matter and how to manipulate typical human concepts of masonry and sniping into something far beyond a normal human's comprehension. Compared to people like that, Franky felt he had a long way to go.

While the two men were lost in their thoughts and their work, a sound came from above:

"Usopp! Get your ass up here and help me with the cleaning!"

The shipwright could hear Nami's angry shrieking even through the noise of his hammering as he worked below deck.

"Wha-t?!" Usopp shouted. "Why can't she get Luffy to help her?!"

"_Usopp_!" Nami screamed again. The long-nosed man flinched and his shoulders slumped, defeated.

"Sorry, Usopp," Franky said with a laugh. "Even though you said you really wanted to work with me today …"

"Don't worry," Usopp sighed, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "We'll work more later."

Franky nodded in agreement and saw his friend off with a wave. As he watched Usopp leave, he saw another familiar person walking past the long-nosed man and into Franky's work space.

"Robin!" he said in acknowledgment to the dark-haired beauty before him. "How rare! I don't think you've ever come to visit me in my workshop before."

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Robin said. Her pink wrap caught in some of the scrap-metal lying around as she moved. She carefully worked the cloth free. "You seem to be busy."

Laughing, Franky said, "Yeah, I have a project going on right now. But I always have time for a nakama. What do you need?"

"I know you mostly work with wood and metal, but I was wondering if you had any spare strips of leather around." She presented Franky with a book, torn up on the edges of its binding, nearly coming apart. "I found this archaeology book the last time we docked, and I want to repair the binding. I'd ask Nami to help me, but she seems busy right now."

Taking the book from Robin's hands, Franky slid his protective goggles up to his forehead so he could examine the damage done. "What's your hurry? After she and Usopp clean, I'm sure she'd be happy to help you."

"We'll be docking at the next island any day now. This book details some of the ruins that lie on that island, so I don't want to waste any time in reading it."

"Hm," Franky hummed, the sound a low grumbling in his throat. "Well, I can't promise it'll be as good of a fix as Nami could do, but …"

He hopped to his feet and grabbed Robin a chair before rummaging through his drawers and pulling out a few strips of leather. He measured the length and width of the binding and then cut out a small strip of wood from some scrap in his supplies, gluing it against the ripped cloth with heat-activated adhesive, giving it some extra support. Then he cut up small strips of leather and made a thick layer over top of the wood, affixing it with the same glue. After the glue was dry and he was sure it wouldn't come apart in his hands, he took some paint and decorated the new leather with gold stars and swirls, his own personal touch.

He handed the book back to her. "Here," he said, "Test it."

Robin opened the book wide and closed it a few times, confirming that the new repairs were satisfactory. She looked satisfied. "Looks like we have a winner."

"Be careful with it. I'm not sure how well the binding will hold."

She nodded. "Thanks again." She was about to leave, but she saw the mini-Merry lying in pieces as Franky walked back to it and sat cross-legged to begin working again.

"You're remodeling it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Franky replied. "Usopp and I have been working on it for a while. We think reinforcing the weaponry and adding a few new features will help for infiltration and for sea-battles in general." He screwed in some bolts and worked for a while before he realized Robin was still there, sitting in the chair he set out and watching him, her chin resting on her hand. "What is it?" he asked.

"You never stop working, do you?" she asked softly, as if the thought had occurred to her so out of the blue that it could be carried away with a simple breeze.

"Yeah," Franky said, smiling down at his unfinished project. "I love machines. Especially ships. I've made ships ever since I was really young. Even though the Sunny is my dream ship, I wouldn't mind making a few other huge ships in my lifetime if I could."

A warm smile melted Robin's tanned features. "Maybe someday you'll make me a machine for excavating?"

Franky laughed. "I am the shipwright, after all. As long as you're on the Thousand Sunny, you have as much access to me as anyone else."

Unexpectedly, Robin's eyes became distant, looking towards some far-off goal. "Maybe if I had a good machine, it'd be easier to discover the True History …"

He removed his goggles and leaned back for a minute to rest. He looked askance at Robin. "… Guess those relics are really important to you, huh? The … what do you call 'em? Poneglyphs?"

She brightened considerably at his correct assumption. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"I remember a lot of things," Franky said, taking a look at the mini-Merry before him. A wave of nostalgia crashed over him, and all of a sudden, he felt like Tom. So young, and yet so old at the same time. "I build ships to forget all the painful things. Or rather, I build to replace those memories with better ones. To improve myself." He held out his metal arms, staring at them with a slight smile. "Just like I switch out my parts."

"It's not as if I don't have my own successes," Robin said. "With every Poneglyph I've found, I felt just a little bit closer to my mother, and the other scholars of Ohara. I feel like I'm drawing closer to the truth of the Marines, and the pirates, and the divide between citizens and their laws."

"If anyone can find it, it'd be you," Franky said with a smile.

Face darkening again, Robin sighed and said, "Sometimes I wonder, though, if I want the truth. It'll be something terrible and painful, I know. I've always wanted to gain knowledge of the lost era, for the sake of Ohara and for myself. But what'll I do with it when I acquire it? And what if it's too painful?"

With a shrug, Franky said, "If it's painful, we'll just exchange this old world for a new one."

She shot him a questioning look. "How am I supposed to get rid of something like that?"

"Well, you never completely get rid of it." Franky went on to illustrate his words. "You can sew up a wound, but may never be able to get rid of the scar. You can heal, but you can't erase the fact that you were wounded in the first place."

"You said something before about replacing memories," Robin mentioned. "How is one supposed to go about replacing their memories?"

"Well, it's different for everyone. I guess for me, the simplest way to explain it would be that in the life I live now, there's no time to think. Whether I'm hanging out with the crew or working on a new machine, I'm always doing something. And even if I'm left alone to think about depressing things, I refuse to take my mind anywhere but forward. If I get upset, I think about how I can make the ship better, or how I can prevent myself from getting in bad situations again. I just replace the past with the present."

He remembered Tom, who died in infamy but gave his country new life with the invention of his sea train, and Iceburg whose kindness and good judgment helped to take everyone's mind off the fact that their city would always be sinking. The good things they did in the end would always overshadow the negativity and misconceptions in their pasts. Even though Franky had accepted the mistakes he'd made and forgiven himself for Tom's death and accusations, he still wished he could overshadow that sad past behind him with something good. He believed his adventures as a Straw-hat would make him into a stronger person, and replace all his weaknesses. He felt he had to become stronger, to catch up to his comrades. If he lounged around without improving himself, he'd get left behind.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"For you, it might be different, though. Your intelligence level is suuuuupeeeeerrr. Smart people can't really control their thoughts. And you've got a lot of pressure on your shoulders. After all, if you figure out the True History, you could be the one who gives us the knowledge that can help change the world." He laughed jovially. There was great admiration overflowing in his voice. "As for me … I just keep pushing on, hammering away until something gives."

Robin was silent. For a moment, Franky thought the conversation had ended, and moved to pick up his tools. Then he felt a pair of arms reaching carefully around his thick neck. At first he thought it was the Hana-Hana fruit, but then he felt Robin's cheek against his head.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm no smarter than you, Franky. I have a lot of knowledge, but simply knowing things doesn't make me smart. I'm constantly tortured by this knowledge, being the only person who can decipher the poneglyphs, and I've always been treated like I was some alien being. We're going to change the world as Straw-hats. As equals. So please don't treat me like I'm above you."

Franky put a bulky hand on Robin's shoulder and looked up with a grin. "You're above me right now." He relaxed a little when she smiled again.

He wasn't sure why she said all of those things. He wasn't really comparing them. You can't really compare a shipwright to an archaeologist—they're two completely different professions, and completely necessary to the development of mankind in their own way.

But if Robin was trying to hug him and cheer him up, he guessed he must have sounded pretty lonely. Robin sounded pretty lonely herself.

**(XXX)**

Notes: So yeah, super short. Maybe there's a point to it? It was supposed to be longer originally, but the original took way too many dark turns, and would've taken forever to work out. So, this is what you get instead! I hope you enjoyed. I love both Franky and Robin very dearly. Favorite and review if you liked! Requests are always welcome.


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